Collaborative decision making for digital technology initiatives
Technology is one of the most critical investments a school district makes. There are multiple factors to consider and many stakeholders with specific needs and concerns. The challenges for today's educators are greater than ever.
K-12 students must
- Access technology that prepares them for the future
- Avoid distracting tech and focus on learning
- Communicate and collaborate with classmates at school or online
Administrators must
- Promote equitable access to digital learning for children of all backgrounds
- Offer devices to all students to advance learning
- Balance tight public-sector or independent school tech budgets
Teachers must
- Personalize learning for students of all abilities and learning styles
- Enable learning and engagement from almost anywhere
- Maximize class time for instruction and minimize troubleshooting
IT professionals must
- Manage and deploy devices remotely
- Safeguard student and teacher data and identities
- Protect school data and devices
School leaders must involve multiple stakeholders to select the technology options that best meet everyone’s needs and increase learning outcomes, even when they conflict.
Use these tactics to plan collaboratively and set goals:
- Identify and include key stakeholders in the decision-making process, as well as in set-up and deployment, for optimal buy-in.
- Be sure to include administrators and IT staff members from the beginning, so both groups’ needs and priorities are part of the decision-making process. A major pitfall for schools in making tech decisions is failing to take the needs of all stakeholders into consideration.
- Clearly articulate the “why” of recommendations and be specific in describing how technology choices benefit students, teachers, IT administrators, and the school system (and community) as a whole.